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Thursday, July 16, 2015

My excitement began when I put on my brand new pair
of silver high-heeled shoes! While I don’t have an obsession with shoes, most
women [like me] feel pretty confident slipping their feet into a new pair of
sandals, wedges, boots, flats, heels, or tennis shoes. I am no exception.

Yesterday, I was “pumped” gracing my feet in this new pair of shoes for their
first time. My shoes and I were going out-on-the-town for the first time to Sax
Fifth Avenue in Houston’s Galleria to enjoy lunch with my good friend
Dorothy. I stepped out of the house with my serotonin level bouncing high!

﻿

My New Shoe from T.J. Maxx

﻿

As I pulled out of my driveway, I noticed my garbage
man (okay, sanitation worker) had come, and I needed to bring the garbage can
to the back of the house. I exited my car and dragged the garbage can to its
resting place. But then the unthinkable happened. I was heading back to my car
and I stumbled on the front of my right shoe. Right then and there, I
experienced grief, regret, and discouragement all at the same time. Nothing
affects a girl’s mood more than getting a tear in a brand new pair of shoes
tear the first time they wear them.

But, I continued to the Galleria with the express
thought that I would stop at the shoe repair store on my way home and see if the
cobbler could somehow prevent my shoe from tearing more. On the drive to the
Galleria, my tiny tear somehow became a BIG rip in my mind. When I walked into the
Galleria, I was so conscious of the tear in my shoe that my mind even thought,
"The Galleria is so fancy that no one should be wearing a torn shoe
here." Crazy, right!

After a lovely lunch with my friend, I decided to
drive directly to the cobbler to fix this problem before it got out of hand. In
my mind, the cobbler had all of a sudden become elevated to having a doctorate degree in 'Shoe Repair.' If anyone
could fix my shoe, he could!

I arrived at the shoe repair shop, parked my
car in the parking lot, and began pondering and contemplating whether I should
go in or not. I finally decided that I was putting way too much emphasis on my
new pair of shoes. To make a long story short, I decided not to spend $10.00+/-
to get a small tear fixed when my shoes only cost $39.00. I drove home without
entering the hallowed doors of my savior –THE COBBLER.

So, why am I compelled to tell my shoe story? It is
because all through the day my mind was drifting to find a spiritual meaning to
this event. For now though, let’s pretend the small TEAR in my shoe is SIN and
the COBBLER is THE LORD.

Just
like the cobbler wants to fix our shoes, God wants to fix us.
When you and I first sin, we would be wise to go to the Lord immediately to get
our sins forgiven and deal with it before we sin more. We all sin, but
do we always turn to the Lord after one little bitty sin? Sometimes we do,
but other times, we wait until our sins mount. The longer we wait to go to
the expert, the problems and consequences of our sins (our tears)
get bigger and bigger.

Take the prodigal son. He went off with his
inheritance. Excited about his new adventure, he squandered his wealth and
became involved in ungodly behavior. He enjoyed himself until one day, he
found himself eating with the pigs. His sins accumulated, but finally he
decided he had it better at home and he returned to his father. And, the good news is his father accepted him. It would have been best if the 'prodigal son' never left home and sinned, but he did. Sometimes however, we try to avoid our
Father. When avoiding Him, He will be constantly pursuing us to come to Him or
to come back to Him. When we postpone or reject God, our situation and
consequences usually get worse. The longer we wait the harder it becomes, but remember that God
continues to pursue us until the days of pursuing are over.

Whether we have been involved in a crime; had
an abortion; deceived our spouse, or other actions, God still loves us. He cares about us, and He will continue to put spiritual people, spiritual literature, spiritual songs, and more in our pathway as he convicts us to return to Him. Our Heavenly Father sees the small tears (sins) in our life, and He wants to fix them as soon as possible
before they turns into large tears that come with more dire consequences.

By deciding not to go to the cobbler, I didn’t get
the small tear in my shoe fixed. But, it’s just a shoe!!!

The Village Cobbler / Town and Country, Houston, Texas

Our lives are more important than a shoe. God
is there to heal all the small tears and big tears in our lives. When
we turn to Him, we experience true freedom and well-being. Actually, it can
mean the difference between heaven and hell. Wherever you are in your spiritual
walk, choose God. Don’t wait. He loves and cares for all of us.

Make God the Master Cobbler in your life. Today!

Bible
Verses:

For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

But if we keep living in the light as he himself is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all
sin.

1 John 1:7 NIV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the
younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that
is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not
many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a
far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And
when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he
began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out toone of the citizens of that country, who
sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the
pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.“But when
he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more
than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my
father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before
you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired
servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long
way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and
kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and
before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’But the
father said to his servants,‘Bring
quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and
celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:11-24 ESV

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, Thank you for being with me today. Lord,
show me my sins – even those little ones that I barely notice. I confess both
the small sins and the big sins to you right now. Let me quickly recognize when
I hurt others. Lord, you are better than a cobbler who is limited to their
expertise. You can fix everything. I ask you to fix me and forgive me for where
I have failed you. And trust you as my personal Lord and Savior. Amen.